Weekly anb02153.txt #5

[anb-bia <anb-bia@village.uunet.be>]

_____________________________________________________________
WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 15-02-2001  PART #3/5

* Côte d'Ivoire. Dette exorbitante - Le Premier ministre Pascal Affi 
N'Guessan a commencé, le 14 février, un voyage décisif à Bruxelles et à 
Paris. Quatorze mois après le premier coup d'Etat, la Côte d'Ivoire est en 
récession, minée par une année d'instabilité et de violences et une dette 
"exorbitante". "C'est la bagatelle de 1.000 milliards (de fcfa, 10 
milliards deFF) qu'il faudrait à la Côte d'Ivoire pour s'en sortir", a 
estimé le Premier ministre. Or, le FMI, la Banque mondiale et l'Union 
européenne ont suspendu leur aide depuis fin 1998. La Côte d'Ivoire compte 
sur un coup de pouce de la France pour rembourser 1,27 milliard de FF 
d'arriérés dus à la Banque mondiale. Un crédit de 1 milliard pourrait être 
accordé par Paris. - D'autre part, le 14 février, Henriette Diabaté, numéro 
deux du RDR, parti d'opposition d'Alassane Ouattara, a été inculpée dans le 
cadre des enquêtes sur les violentes manifestations des 4 et 5 décembre 
dernier. Mme Diabaté a été laissée en liberté. (Le Monde et Libération, 
France, 15 février 2001)

* Ethiopie. Femmes contre la violence - Le 10 février, des milliers de 
femmes ont défilé à Addis-Abeba contre la violence dont elles sont victimes 
quoditiennement. Répondant à l'Association des avocates éthiopiennes et à 
une vingtaine d'organisations, elles dénonçaient notamment la clémence des 
condamnations pour viol. (Libération, France, 12 février 2001)

* Ethiopie. Retrait des troupes - En fin de la semaine dernière, plus de 
600 soldats éthiopiens se sont retirés de la zone de Senafe, ville 
érythréenne occupée depuis le printemps 2000. Le repli a été décidé en 
vertu de l'application des accords de paix signés entre l'Ethiopie et 
l'Erythrée en décembre dernier. Le retrait des forces éthiopiennes, qui 
permettra la mise en place d'une zone tampon de mille km le long de la 
frontière, devrait être terminé d'ici la fin du mois. (Misna, Italie, 13 
février 2001)

* Ethiopie. Agence musulmane pour le développement - Le 14 février, le 
Conseil supérieur pour les affaires islamiques d'Ethiopie a annoncé la 
création d'une agence nationale de développement avec comme objectif la 
participation aux efforts d'assistance et de réhabilitation dans le pays. 
L'Agence islamique de développement de l'Ethiopie (Emda) fontionnera comme 
une ONG à but non lucratif. Elle cherchera à collaborer avec d'autres 
instances gouvernementales et non gouvernementales, ainsi qu'avec d'autres 
institutions islamiques. L'Emda démarre avec des fonds d'un montant de 20 
millions de birr ($2,4 millions) qui seront consacrés aux besoins sociaux 
des pauvres. L'agence envisage de mener des activités dans les domaines 
vitaux, comme la sécurité alimentaire, l'éradication de la malnutrition, 
l'approvisionnement en eau, les services de santé, la lutte contre 
l'alphabétisation et contre la propagation du VIH/SIDA. (PANA, 14 février 2001)

* Ghana. Kufuor won't fly in presidential jet - "President J.A. Kufuor will 
continue to use Ghana Airways' aircraft for his international travel", says 
Ms. Elizabeth Ohene, Minister of State at the Presidency in Charge of Media 
Relations. Speaking on a private radio station in Accra, Ms. Ohene 
explained that this decision has been necessitated by the resolve of the 
President to sell the Gulf Stream presidential aircraft procured by the 
past government. When asked why the President would still use the national 
airline whilst the state continues to pay $1.5 million every six months for 
the leased Gulf Stream aircraft, while the Fokker F28 presidential jet also 
sits idle at the Ghana Air Force base, the Minister reiterated that plans 
were underway to sell the leased aircraft and said that the Fokker F28 has 
not been skyworthy for some time. Confirming a pending trip by President 
Kufuor to Mali as part of his travels lined up for the year, Ms. Elizabeth 
Ohene indicated that she did not know whether the President's trip to Togo 
earlier on in the year cost the nation $10,000 as alleged. She however 
expressed surprise at the perception that trips embarked on with the 
presidential jet would cost the nation nothing, and said, "any plane that 
flies is paid for whether Ghanair or Airforce". On the assertion that 
travel by Ghana Airways disrupts its flight schedule, as was the case when 
the President travelled to Togo, Ms. Ohene said that was not the case as 
the trip to Togo took less than an hour. Asked whether she knew when the 
Ministry of Energy will be making a statement on the price of fuel, the 
Media Relations Minister intimated that the Energy Minister would soon come 
out with an announcement on the fuel situation as that was not intended to 
be kept as a secret. Commenting further on the work of the Appointments 
Committee, she said, "I think the appointments committee does its job." 
(The Independent, Ghana, 13 February 2001)

* Guinée. Alpha Condé au secret - L'opposant guinéen Alpha Condé, 
emprisonné depuis deux ans à Conakry pour atteinte à la sûreté de l'Etat, 
est écroué dans un bâtiment isolé et dans une cellule dont la porte est 
constamment fermée, a affirmé un ancien détenu le 8 février. Le 11 
septembre 2000, Alpha Condé avait été condamné à cinq ans de prison, et 
sept de ses coaccusés, dont M. Soromou, accusé de complicité de 
déstabilisation du régime et violence sur agent, à des peines de 18 mois à 
3 ans de prison. (Le Figaro, France, 9 février 2001)

* Guinea. Safe passage urged for refugees - On 12 February, Ruud Lubbers, 
the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, sought assurances from the Guinean 
government over the safety of hundreds of thousands of Sierra Leonean and 
Liberian refugees caught up in what the UNHCR describes as the world's 
worst humanitarian crisis. The UNHCR estimates that as many as 250,000 more 
refugees are cut off from aid, most of them in a small slice of Guinea 
known as the "Parrot's Beak", which just out into Sierra Leone territory 
held by the Revolutionary United Front rebels. (Financial Times, UK, 13 
February 2001)

* Guinée. Escalade - Le conflit qui couvait depuis le mois de septembre au 
sud de la Guinée, à la frontière avec la Sierra Leone et le Libéria, est en 
train de devenir une guerre. Le 9 février, à la suite de nouveaux 
affrontements, 30.000 personnes paniquées se sont enfuies du camp de 
réfugiés de Nyadeou vers le nord. Hors de portée, pour l'instant, de tout 
secours. Le sud de la Guinée abrite 330.000 réfugiés sierra-léonais et 
130.000 libériens qui ont fui une décennie de combats dans leurs pays. 
Aujourd'hui, 200.000 sont pris au piège dans les combats autour de 
Guéckédou. Le 11 février, le nouveau responsable du HCR, Ruud Lubbers, a 
visité plusieurs camps de réfugiés en Guinée. "Nous avons besoin d'un 
corridor de sécurité pour les réfugiés et les travailleurs humanitaires", 
a-t-il affirmé, appelant les pays de la région à tout faire pour résoudre 
le conflit. Il a également lancé un appel à la communauté internationale 
pour qu'elle prenne des sanctions contre le Libéria à cause de son rôle 
dans le conflit. Le 13 février, le porte-parole du HCR a annoncé que 30.000 
réfugiés sierra-léonais en Guinée avaient regagné leur pays d'origine. 
Environ 140.000 réfugiés seraient toujours isolés dans la région, tandis 
que d'autres ont réussi à rejoindre d'autres camps plus au nord du pays. 
Quant à la force ouest-africaine, dont l'envoi avait été décidé par la 
CEDEAO fin décembre, elle n'a toujours pas été déployée. Le retard est sans 
doute dû à la situation très complexe sur le terrain, mais aussi au fait 
que les présidents de la Guinée et du Libéria, qui avaient souscrit à la 
décision, n'ont pas encore signé d'accord sur le statut de la force. 
(ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 14 février 2001)

* Liberia. Notorious rebel leaves - The Liberian government says that one 
of the most notorious Sierra Leonean rebel leaders has now left the 
country. The Information Ministry said Sam Bockarie, usually known by his 
rebel name Mosquito, had gone, and the rebels' liaison office in Liberia 
had been closed. Mosquito was given refuge in Liberia a year ago after 
clashing with the founder of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels, 
Foday Sankoh. Bockarie's departure is seen as part of the Liberian 
government's attempt to disengage from the Sierra Leonean conflict in order 
to improve its international image. Liberia announced in January that 
Bockarie had left the country, but retracted the statement after it was 
unable to find a third country to take him. Sources at the Liberian 
immigration bureau have said that Bockarie has gone to neighbouring Côte 
d'Ivoire. Liberia currently faces the threat of United Nations sanctions 
for its involvement in Sierra Leone's civil war. A UN report says Liberia 
is taking diamonds mined in rebel-held areas and helping to arm the RUF. 
The Liberia government has stressed that it is willing to co-operate with 
the UN. (BBC News, 8 February 2001)

* Nigeria. The Archbishop and the prevention of AIDS campaign - The 
Archbishop of Canterbury, visiting Nigeria, has been addressing thousands 
of Christian faithful at the All Saints' Cathedral, Onitsha, Anambra State, 
on 6 February. He identified AIDS as the most terrible enemy facing 
Christians all over the world, especially in Africa. He said: "The most 
terrible enemy we are fighting today as Christians, particularly in Africa, 
which is also common around the world, is HIV/AIDS. It is a terrible virus. 
It is reigning East and West and it consumes the lives of young and old, 
rich and poor. You and I as Christians, have a wonderful weapon to fight 
it. Do you know what it is called? It is called "obedience" because God 
tells us to be faithful to one another in marriage. It is a terrible thing 
today that the way to combat AIDS is simply to use things like condoms. I 
saw in South Africa last year lots of messages around which say, "Be wise, 
condom wise." But we Christians have a better way and that better way is 
what God told us -- not to have sex before marriage. He calls us to be 
faithful in marriage. He calls us to honour one another." (Vanguard Daily, 
Nigeria, 7 February 2001)

* Nigeria. Lawyers may end Abacha impasse - Britain and Nigeria are to make 
a fresh attempt to break the legal deadlock preventing the seizure of 
assets stolen by the family of the late military ruler Sani Abacha and held 
in London banks. Lawyers acting for Nigeria will try to supply new 
information to the Home Office, responsible for interior affairs, which has 
so far refused on legal grounds to order the freezing of accounts held at 
up to 19 British banks. Nigeria believes that $1bn of a total $4bn looted 
from public funds by the Abachas has passed through London banks. Any money 
recovered would be used to reduce its national debt of about $30bn. 
However, Britain has so far taken no action, insisting Nigeria must provide 
extra information clarifying the nature of criminal proceedings being 
brought in Nigeria against Mohammed Abacha, the son of the late dictator. 
Lawyers acting for the Abacha family are prepared to challenge the Home 
Office in the British courts over the legality of any actions taken in 
support of the Nigerian government. Nigeria has said much of the 
documentary information about the Abacha era is extremely difficult to 
uncover inside the country. However, Nigeria is expected to respond to 
British appeals by submitting some information in the hope this will 
convince the Home Office to act. Freezing orders similar to those granted 
in Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Jersey could then follow. 
(Financial Times, UK, 8 February 2001)

* Nigeria. Kaduna introduces Sharia - The state parliament in Kaduna, in 
central Nigeria, has voted to introduce a limited form of Sharia, a year 
after more than 1,000 people were killed in religious riots in the State. 
The Code will only be used in the lower courts. Civil law will continue to 
be used in Kaduna's higher courts where more serious offenses are tried. 
The state government delayed the introduction of Sharia, following the 
riots, for further consultation. (BBC News, 8 February 2001)

* Rwanda. Britain accused of abetting killings - A Top Queen's Counsel has 
accused the immediate former Conservative government in the UK of not only 
failing to act over the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, but of playing a 
leading role in stopping calls for a UN intervention force in the Security 
Council. Geoffrey Robertson is one of the two authors who have in the 
recent past published books on the 1994 genocide. Robertson's argument 
argues that Britain, along with the US, refused to allow a major UN 
expedition force into Rwanda to stop the massacre is not new. What is new, 
however, is his accusation that the UK "actually led the opposition to 
intervention, on the pretence that what was happening in Rwanda was not 
genocide.". Mr. Robertson also points out that while former US President 
Bill Clinton apologised for America's role in the tragic affair, Britain 
pointedly has not, although Foreign Office ministers had acknowledged that 
the UK had learned a lot from what happened in Rwanda and that the same 
mistakes would not be repeated again. The British QC says that the American 
administration's attitude, traumatised as it was by the setback it suffered 
when it intervened in Somalia in the early 1990s, could at least be 
explained, but British opposition to intervention could not. This was 
particularly so as it had become clear that British officials were aware of 
the scale of the slaughter in Rwanda and of the Unamir commander in Rwanda, 
Gen Romeo Dallaire's belief that a mere 5,500 crack troops could have 
stopped the genocide in its tracks. Instead, Britain is said to have urged 
a pull-out of the UN troops and even rejected a fact-finding mission to the 
region once the death-toll reached six figures. In her book, "A People 
Betrayed -- the Role of the West in Rwanda's Genocide", Ms Linda Melvern 
demonstrates that Britain played a leading role in rejecting Western 
intervention even after the US-based Human Rights Watch presented a report 
on Rwanda reminding Security Council members of their obligations under the 
genocide convention. (The East African, Kenya, 8 February 2001)

Weekly anb0215.txt - End of part 3/5